An explosion on the offensive end saw the Wildcats (3-4) win by double digits, 92-82 against Northern Arizona (2-6) on Sunday.
ACU shot 57% from the floor and 56% from beyond the arc while holding the Lumberjacks to 48% from the floor and 45% from three. The Wildcats lineup mostly remained the same as these were the five Tanner chose on Sunday:
- Damien Daniels, senior guard from Kansas City, Missouri
- Hunter-Jack Madden, junior guard from Sydney, Australia
- Tobias Cameron, graduate guard from Gold Coast, Australia
- Immanuel Allen, graduate guard from Phoenix, Arizona
- Joe Pleasant, senior forward from Overland Park, Kansas
“Until Sunday afternoon, we had yet to put a 40 minute game together,” Tanner said. “We played 20 great minutes and 20 not so great minutes or 30 great minutes and ten not so great minutes. That’s what the preseason is for is figuring things out. We’ve been working on a rotation that works for us. I’m not saying we found it yet, but I think we’re closer to getting there.”
At the end of one, NAU led ACU 40-39 in a tense half. Following his suspension against UC Riverside, senior forward Airion Simmons checked in at the 16:54 mark and finished the half with three points and two assists in 12 minutes. The first 11 minutes were tight until NAU’s Jalen Cone hit three three’s in a row to lift his team to a 23-18 lead over ACU with 9:25 to go. However, ACU responded with a 7-0 run in 1:22 to take a 25-23 lead with 7:28 remaining.
ACU’s offense rolled its way to a 52% shooting half from the floor with 10 team assists as Allen led the way with 10 points. Defensively, ACU scored seven points off of three Lumberjacks turnovers.
“We’ve had pretty special teams defensively the last few years and I think these guys are good defensively but maybe my barometer for how I judge that has got to change,” Tanner said. “We’ve been number one in the country in turnover margin for three straight years and so top ten is not good enough in my mind. But maybe it is for this team. Maybe that’s just what this team is and that’s okay, because we’re still pretty good. Maybe we need to start looking at some other things. Bottom line is, we want to win games.”
ACU’s offense continued to roll in the second half with a 53-42 second half win to lead ACU to a 10 point win, 92-82 over NAU. Six Wildcats finished with double digit points
- Immanuel Allen – 16 pts, two rebounds
- Tobias Cameron – 13 pts, two assists, five rebounds
- Airion Simmons – 11 pts, three assists, five rebounds
- Cameron Steele – 11 pts, two assists, three rebounds
- Hunter-Jack Madden – 11 pts, four assists, three rebounds
- Damien Daniels – 11 pts, four assists, four rebounds
“We decided to go score 92 against a really good team in high altitude, which we’re not used to,” Tanner said. “Northern Arizona is one of the toughest places to play in the country. I was really proud of our guys and their effort. Neither team really turned it over. It turned into one of those classic shootout basketball games. We had six guys in double figures and that’s rare.”
ACU bullied their way into the paint, finishing with 46 points in the paint and 18 team assists. Tanner’s bench came up big with 33 points and his team fought for a plus three rebounding margin win, 35-32. Tanner’s defense failed to force 20 turnovers but his team scored 17 off of 10 turnovers.
For NAU, junior guard Jalen Cone and sophomore forward Carson Towt combined for 57 of their 82 points. Cone connected 11 times in his 22 attempts, good enough for 38 points while Towt scored 19 of his own.
The second half was even until ACU began to turn the tide on a 9-0 run in just under two minutes to take a 59-55 lead with 13:30 remaining. The Wildcats never lost the lead again.
“I thought we were really good defensively,” Tanner said. “I know we gave up 82 points, so normally I wouldn’t feel that way, but they had a player that just was hitting tough, contested shots. All but two of his baskets had a hand in his face. He just had a great night and so it took a guy having 40 points for them for us to win by ten and not 20.”
After the trip to Arizona, the Wildcats head back home for a two game home stretch starting with North American (0-4), out of the NAIA’s Continental Athletic Conference, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Moody Coliseum. The Stallions are 0-4 to start this year after finishing 3-13 last season. NAU was created in 2007 and joined the Continental Athletic Conference in the summer.
“It’s a big week for us,” Tanner said. “We’ve been on the road for eight, nine days. To come back home to play a game, I’m a little concerned. I hope the students haven’t forgotten about us. They did such a great job, those first couple of home games coming out, supporting us, and we need them to come back and support us this week.”
The Wildcats and Stallions tip off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Moody Coliseum and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
